Offshore Drilling: Protecting
Our Coastline Once Again
O
By Leigh Cobb
ffshore drilling became a topic of concern for many on the
southeast coast in 2015 when the Obama administration
announced that it was considering opening the Virginia,
North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia coasts
to offshore oil and gas drilling. The possibility of offshore drilling
galvanized individuals and districts concerned about the dangers this
would pose to both coastal economies and the environment. As a result,
140 communities up and down the Atlantic coast passed resolutions
opposing offshore drilling and the harmful seismic testing that precedes
it. In response to opposition, the federal government protected the
Atlantic, as well areas in Alaska and the Pacific, from new offshore
drilling when it finalized the current 2017–2022 five-year National
Outer Continental Shelf Program in 2016.
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Photo by Adam Chandler